OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — The Ottawa County Road Commission is hoping voters countywide will approve a road millage renewal on the ballot this August.
In 2014, Ottawa County voters passed a countywide road millage of .5 mills for 10 years, lasting from 2015-2024.
"We've been able to utilize those dollars quite a bit over the last 10 years and made some significant investments on our road network," said Alex Doty, communications administrator for the Ottawa County Road Commission. "We're just asking voters to consider extending, or renewing that millage for another 10 years, so we can continue that progress."
On Aug. 6, voters have the opportunity to approve the millage for the next 10 years, from 2025-2034.
Through the Headlee process, the millage rate is estimated to be renewed at .4578 mills, which is approximately $0.46 per thousand dollars of taxable valuation.
The Ottawa County Road Commission said 100% of the millage funds collected in a township or city will only be spent within that township or city.
Doty said they've created a 10-year list of projects the millage could be used for, however, it is fluid.
He said deciding factors for which projects to use the millage funds for include whether or not they receive state grants that can be put towards the projects as well as community involvement.
"We rely heavily on residents, on the townships, on our partners to let us know what's important for them and you know, what areas that they might think might need to be improved," Doty said. "So all that involvement might change the list down the line. So, you know, we just want to let people know that there's quite a bit that we could do."
Doty said the funding would be used for roads with a higher volume of traffic throughout the county.
He said they would look at various factors to continue to develop project lists, from pavement condition, capacity, congestion issues, crash history, maintenance problems and other sources of funding they receive.
To learn more about the proposed millage, click here.
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